Another Plein Air Session

Last week I managed to paint outside again. At the weekly `unofficial' AVA session all the other attendees decided not to risk it and remained in the hall. This new idea has worked quite well, as apart from the obstacle of inclement weather, the majority of members prefer to paint indoors.

Yvonne, on the extreme right, taking a break after her exhausting weeks exhibition at Wells, contemplating having to paint another 50 plus to replace those sold! She doesn't just paint, but frames them as well, also cutting her own mounts!. 

 From left to right Kath, Brenda, Helen and Jo

 Jan

There were ten of us in total and it was a sad occasion due to the death a few days earlier of Alan Coster, a popular and much respected member of the group. Alan will be sorely missed by me personally and other members.

Nevertheless  we painted and I set myself up in the car park next to my car. This is the scene I was contemplating 

The first issue was what to leave out? The wall on the left was one obvious thing and also the large tree and shed on the right. I reduced the scene to the tree in the middle with the cottages in the left distance, and also the fields behind that slope up to a prominent clump of trees at the top. There are also houses behind the tree which you can just glimpse through the branches and leaves.

Fabriano Artistico 20" x 14" Extra White Not 140lb (300gsm)

The actual scene has been greatly simplified. I started with a simple pencil drawing avoiding detail.  I know it is large for a plein air painting but I don't like painting small. Greens were Sap Green, Green-Gold and , Hookers. I added blue to both Sap Green and Hookers for the darker areas. Other colours were Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue, Raw Umber and  Raw Sienna. I may have used some Cerulean and Quinacridone Rust. Brushes were the Escoda retractables, mainly size 12. I use these occasions to experiment- at least that's my excuse..

Afterwards the paintings were displayed in our usual manner. The `official' Autumn indoor season starts in two weeks time with the first subject `Summer Holidays'.

That's it folks.

More Plein Air

With the weather somewhat better I was able to do some outdoor painting this week. This was at the Thursday morning session of my Avon Valley Artists group. Although the weather was good, of the nine members present I was the only one to opt for painting outside. I was situated just outside the hall - literally feet away - and attempted a subject I've tried before, never very successfully. One of the reasons was that due to later in the day grand parenting duties I didn't want to travel too far. Yvonne Harry, who is second from left has her annual weeks solo exhibition at Wells, starting on Saturday in the Chapter room at the Cathedral. I shall be there next Monday with the wife and grandaughter, another budding artist.

I had no intention of attempting the whole scenario and opted to concentrate on part of the cottage and the tree on the right. The wall at front was to be left well alone!  

I initially made a fairly loose and uncomplicated drawing then began to paint, first splashing water onto the paper. My object was to paint with freedom and avoid any `tightness' by trying to be too close to the actual scene. This is risky. Initially I painted the tree using plenty of water and pigment letting the wet areas blend and using a couple of riggers to draw in the branches. Green used were mainly Sap Green (Daniel Smith (PO49/PG7)) and Hookers Green (Graham PG7/PY110)) with a little Green Gold (Rowney PY129). There is also some Cobalt Teal Blue (DS PG50) at the top of the tree. The trunks and branches are various combination of Raw Umber, Cerulean, Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue. A little Gold Ochre was added later. I splashed both Hookers and Sap Green onto the tree at various stages. 

 20" x 14" Fabriano Artistico Extra White Not

I experimented on the building using granulating colours, Daniel Smith Lunar Violet, Earth, Red and  Blue. I wet some of the area with W & N granulating medium prior to putting the paint on. Other colours on the cottage included Burnt Sienna, Quinacridone Rust (Graham PO48), Raw Sienna and Gold Ochre. (W & N PY43). There is some Mineral Violet (Graham PV16) at the lower part of the cottage. Diluted Cerulean and Cobalt Blue in the sky with a little Burnt Sienna to grey them.

Brushes used were the Rosemary Kolinsky Mop Size 1, Escoda Tajmir Kolinsky retractable size 10 and a couple of riggers. I think that's it.

On reflection I overworked the tree and when I've subsequently  looked at this painting  my dissatisfaction grew, so it now resides on the reject pile waiting for an opportunity to paint on the reverse side. I'm also beginning to think that my love affair with Grahams Hookers Green is a mistake. It is rather a dull colour and can have a deadening effect. It needs to have another colour added to counteract this. You also have to be careful with the DS Lunar colours. They are on the dull side and can also deaden a painting if not used properly - which I fear is what has happened here. With these colours you need to  think carefully about what other colours to mix with them. I intend to do some serious trial and error work on landscape subjects, especially trees. I've previously noted the way in which the Belgian artist Gerda Mertens draws and paints trees.  I was in two minds whether to post this or not but as I adopt - well almost - a warts and all approach to showing my work it might help others to avoid such frustrating failures. However I've already moved on and have completed a flower painting for the August challenge which - so far - I haven't downgraded!  Today I'm planning two drawings for future works, one of Evie and the other another Indian. As far as Evie is concerned there has been an amazing development. My painting of her has come in for some criticism - rightly - and it has sparked something off. Believe me you couldn't make it up and all will be revealed soon.

Plein air, Watercolour books and other bargains

Last week we were on holiday in Devon, which is in the South West of England. We already live in an area that is classified as the South West but Devon is further south, only Cornwall further away. I took a full painting kit even though the weather forecast was poor (or very poor). In fact the general area we were staying in near Newton Abbot had several red warnings from the Met office and some places quite close suffered devastating floods. Where is this heading? Essentially in a roundabout way I am saying that conditions, rain most days, although mostly intermittent,  precluded any substantial plein air activity, but I did get one short session in at Kingsbridge, which is further down near the coast.

This is the scene I was facing. I have more photographs.

 Unfinished sketch 16" x 12" Centenaire 140lb not

The previous day we had been to Trago Mills, a very well known major discount operation and something of an institution - they sell everything - close by. They have three such, the other two in Cornwall where the original one is on the site of what had been a large mill. Trago has an art section where a limited range of products are on offer including Daler Rowney Artists watercolours. The full range (79 colours) was for sale and I purchased two tubes of Cobalt Blue Deep for only £5.59p each! The RPP is £15,25p and even Jacksons are £8.80p, while most other artist quality Cobalt Blues are around £12.00p. Series A were £3.99p while B/C are £5.59p. See what Handprint say about Rowney Cobalt Blue Deep. Except for the fact I'm overloaded with paint at present I would have bought more.

And that isn't all! Trago sell books (what don't they sell) and amongst some art books I found a copy of  the  `The New Encyclopedia of Watercolour Tecniques' by Diana Craig and Hazel Harrison (Search Press 2011), originally published as `The Encyclopedia of Watercolour Tecniques' in 2004. I have recently been evaluating this book (both from the library) together with `The Compedium of Watercolour Techniques' by Robin Berry, again Search Press, for a feature on the blog and it struck me these are useful books and not just for beginners. I won't go into detail because I'll be covering, and comparing them, in more detail in the next two weeks. Trago had several copies most of which were £9.49p (RPP £12.99p). However quite by chance I picked up a brand new copy that was priced at  £5.99p and that was what I paid! I've left the best until last.

Paperback 128 pages AC Black , London 1985 (reprinted 1987) Size 81/4 x 103/4

These days it is very difficult to find a real book bargain. You do get some fair prices on Abebooks  but in general used booksellers have the market tied up and  finding a bargain is rare. In fact the reverse is true. Quality books tend to rocket in price once out of print and those by many well-known artists may be priced at several times the original cover price. UK sellers can be expensive and when on holiday to the USA and Canada I have found that used books are generally far more reasonable and availability very good..

With the mushrooming of charity shops in the UK in recent years many sell some used books. Stocks vary  but there is always a chance you might find something good. A couple of years ago in Keynsham two miles from my home, I found several which obviously had come from the same person, including a copy of `Watercolor' by John Pike. The late John Pike, he of the JP palette, is  famous in the USA and his books much sought after. I didn't buy it at less than £10 and have regretted this ever since, though as a matter of principle I don't tie myself in knots over what might have been. When I was in Kingsbridge a wander up the high street spied a charity shop with some books. The book above was the result. I have two John Blockley books, an A5 paperback published in association with Daler Rowney and the hardback `Country Landscapes in Watercolour' (1982). At this moment I also have `The Challenge of Watercolour' (1979), another hardback, on loan from the library. These latter two seem to be his best known and I confess I didn't know the book above which was published in 1985 so in many respects it supercedes the others. It has the advantage of being in colour whereas the earlier books are mainly monochrome. Just out of curiosity when  home I looked it up on Abebooks and found several copies for sale from different booksellers. The cheapest was £22.98p including carriage, and the others ranged from £31.35p to £51.35p!!! I paid £2.99p for a mint copy with just a pencil inscription on the inside cover.

The weather might not have been great last week and the plein air painting plans a washout but there were other compensations!

Down by the River

With the official end of the indoor season of Avon Valley Artists  members  were given the option of painting outdoors or continuing at St Marys Church Hall. There are some members who are not enthusiastic about painting outdoors so were receptive to this suggestion. It was agreed it would happen on an ad hoc basis with members doing their own thing rather than a common subject. I wasn't too happy and said I would be painting outdoors, weather permitting, and those who wanted to do so could contact me and I would tell them where I planned to paint.

In the event I was the only outdoor painter this week and when I called in at the hall afterwards found nine members happily painting away. The weather has been terrible recently - cold, wet and windy, more like late autumn - but on Thursday was just about acceptable, at least for a short period.

Intially I picked the area close to the hall and alongside the River Avon, known as the Shallows. It was slightly windy and on the cold side but I was well kitted up with  warm clothing and also wore a pair of woollen fingerless gloves  my sister made me.This keeps hands warm but allows free use of fingers and consequently brushes.

A suppose you could call this a kind of warming up session as I decided to do a quick painting, probably best described as a sketch, rather than attempt a two hour masterpiece! This was the result.

Looking down towards the Riverside Pub. 16" x 12" Fabriano Artistico 140lb Not.

It took about 40 minutes and was accomplished mainly with two brushes, an Escoda 1214 Size 12 retractable and a Rosemary retractable rigger. A restricted palette was used with greens mixed from various blues and yellows and greys primarily Ultramarine or Cobalt Blues with Burnt Sienna. I am moderately pleased with the result as it was never intended as a serious painting..

Afterwards I called in at the Hall as I was only two or three hundred yards away, actually on the river bank, and had a chat with fellow AVA artists who were busy painting. Whatever the weather grandparenting duties might prevent me painting  next week and definately the following one but we shall see.